Chief Operating Officer (COO)

Dubai
Permanent
Full-time

1 day ago
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Guildhall is retained to search a Chief Operating Officer (COO) for one of our leading real estate development clients in Dubai. The COO will be responsible for driving end-to-end operational excellence across the organisation, ensuring seamless execution of the company's strategic vision. The COO will act as the primary executional partner to the CEO and Deputy CEO, enabling them to focus on strategic direction while ensuring full operational accountability across all departments and projects.Key Responsibilities
1. Strategic Operational Leadership

Drive execution of the company's strategic vision across all business functions.
Lead integration and alignment across Sales Operations, Marketing, Finance, Construction, Customer Experience, Technology, and People & Culture.
Translate strategy into operational roadmaps, OKRs, and measurable business outcomes.

2. Execution Excellence Across Projects & Business Units

Oversee end-to-end delivery of all real estate development projects ensuring timely completion.
Ensure operational readiness for launches, sales activations, and customer experience initiatives.
Standardize project execution frameworks to improve speed, efficiency, and transparency.

3. Organizational Rhythm & Accountability

Establish and maintain a structured operational cadence including weekly reviews, monthly OKR tracking, and quarterly performance reviews.
Implement clear accountability structures with defined KPIs, ownership, and timelines across all departments.
Proactively identify and resolve cross-functional operational bottlenecks.

4. Customer & Brand Experience Alignment

Ensure operational processes deliver a seamless and consistent customer journey across sales, handover, and post-sales service.
Collaborate with Customer Happiness and Sales teams to embed feedback into process improvements.
Drive continuous enhancement of customer experience through operational excellence.

5. People, Culture & Capability Development

Strengthen leadership capability by mentoring and developing department heads.
Build a high-performance culture focused on ownership, speed, and accountability.
Ensure teams are equipped with the right systems, tools, and frameworks to scale effectively.

6. Digital Transformation Oversight

Lead enterprise-wide adoption of Salesforce (Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud), ERP systems, Asana, and AI-enabled tools.
Drive automation, real-time reporting, and data-driven decision-making across all functions.
Champion continuous process improvement through technology integration.

7. Growth Enablement & Market Expansion

Build scalable operational infrastructure to support rapid growth and regional expansion.
Oversee operational due diligence for new market entry and strategic investments.
Support the CEO and leadership team in partnerships, investor relations, and long-term growth initiatives.

Qualifications & Experience

Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Engineering, Finance, Real Estate, or a related field (Master's degree/MBA preferred)
15-20+ years of progressive leadership experience within UAE/GCC top tier real estate developers is highly preferred
Proven experience in senior operational leadership roles such as COO, Deputy COO, or equivalent
Strong background in real estate development, construction, or project-driven industries
Extensive experience in end-to-end project delivery, from planning through execution to handover
Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams across operations, sales, finance, marketing, and construction
Experience in scaling organisations, improving operational efficiency, and driving execution excellence
Exposure to digital transformation initiatives (ERP, Salesforce, automation tools) is an advantage

Guildhall